Telecommunication system, and switch, and server, and method

ABSTRACT

Known telecommunication systems comprising a terminal, a switch and on Internet/Intranet comprising a memory for storing information blocks at locations defined by addresses, can be made more user-friendly by introducing a detector for detecting speech-recognition/non-speech-recognition related parts in control signals originating from said terminal and defining said addresses or in response signals sent from memory to terminal and comprising said information blocks. A processor is coupled to said detector for in dependence of said detecting routing (parts of) said signals to a server for either conversion of (parts of) said signals or for information purposes.

[0001] The invention relates to a telecommunication system comprising aterminal, a switch and at least a part of an I-net comprising a memoryfor storing I-net information blocks at locations defined by I-netaddresses, with at least parts of said I-net addresses being generatedin response to control signals originating from said terminal, and withat least parts of said I-net information blocks being sent from saidmemory to said terminal in the form of response signals.

[0002] Such a telecommunication system is known in the form of atelecommunication network for fixed and/or mobile communication, withsaid terminal being a fixed (PSTN, ISDN etc.) terminal (telephone,screenphone, pc etc.) or a wireless (cordless: DECT etc.) or mobile(GSM, UMTS etc.) terminal (wireless handset etc.), and with said I-netbeing an Internet and/or Intranet. Said I-net information blocks (HTMLpages, web pages, WAP pages etc.) are stored at locations defined byI-net addresses (directly by Internet Protocol—IP—addresses, indirectlyby Uniform Resource Locators—URLs—etc.) to be generated in response tocontrol signals originating from said terminal and for example generatedby pressing one or more keys and/or clicking on a mouse. As a result,said response signals comprising said I-net information blocks are sentfrom said memory to said terminal.

[0003] Such a telecommunication system is disadvantageous, inter alia,due to being user-friendly insufficiently.

[0004] It is an object of the invention, inter alia, to provide atelecommunication system as described in the preamble, which is moreuser-friendly.

[0005] Thereto, the telecommunication system according to the inventionis characterised in that said switch comprises a detector for defectingspeech-recognition/non-speech-recognition related parts in said signals,and comprises a processor for, in response to a detection, processingsaid signals.

[0006] By introducing said detector and said processor, saidtelecommunication system can be controlled by using speech-recognition,which increases the user-friendlyness a lot.

[0007] The invention is based on the insight, inter alia, that thefuture will be speech-controlled.

[0008] The invention solves the problem, inter alia, of increasing theuser-friendlyness.

[0009] A first embodiment of the telecommunication system according tothe invention is characterised in that said control signals comprisespeech-recognition related parts and/or non-speech-recognition relatedparts, with said processing comprising, in response to a detection of aspeech-recognition related part, routing said speech-recognition relatedpart to a server for converting said speech-recognition related partinto an address signal destined for said memory, and with saidprocessing comprising, in response to a detection of anon-speech-recognition related part, converting saidnon-speech-recognition related part into an address signal destined forsaid memory.

[0010] By detecting speech-recognition related parts and/ornon-speech-recognition related parts in said control signals originatingfrom said terminal, a user of said terminal has the option to either usekeys or mouse etc. or to use speech for controlling the system. Such anoption makes the system more user-friendly.

[0011] A second embodiment of the telecommunication system according tothe invention is characterised in that said terminal comprises apreprocessing unit for preprocessing speech-recognition related parts ofsaid control signals, with said server comprising a final processingunit for final processing said preprocessed speech-recognition relatedparts.

[0012] By introducing distributed speech recognition, the efficiency ofthe system is increased, which further increases the user-friendlyness.

[0013] A third embodiment of the system according to the invention ischaracterised in that said response signals comprise speech-recognitionrelated parts and/or non-speech-recognition related ports, with saidprocessing comprising, in response to a detection of aspeech-recognition related part, routing said speech-recognition relatedpart to said server, and with said processing comprising, in response toa detection of a non-speech-recognition related part, letting saidnon-speech-recognition related part pass to allow saidnon-speech-recognition related part being sent to said terminal.

[0014] By detecting speech-recognition related parts and/ornon-speech-recognition related parts in said response signalsoriginating from said memory, said server is informed ofspeech-recognition related parts of I-net information blocks, of whichnon-speech-recognition related parts flow from said memory to saidterminal, which further increases the efficiency of said system.

[0015] The invention further relates to a switch for use in atelecommunication system comprising a terminal, said switch and at feasta part of an I-net comprising a memory for storing I-net informationblocks at locations defined by I-net addresses, with at least parts ofsaid I-net addresses being generated in response to control signalsoriginating from said terminal, and with at least parts of said I-netinformation blocks being sent from said memory to said terminal in theform of response signals.

[0016] The switch according to the invention is characterised in thatsaid switch comprises a detector for detectingspeech-recognition/non-speech-recognition related parts in said signals,and comprises a processor for, in response to a detection, processingsaid signals.

[0017] A first embodiment of the switch according to the invention ischaracterised in that said control signals comprise speech-recognitionrelated parts and/or non-speech-recognition related parts, with saidprocessing comprising, in response to a detection of aspeech-recognition related part, routing said speech-recognition relatedpart to a server for converting said speech-recognition related partinto an address signal destined for said memory, and with saidprocessing comprising, in response to a detection of anon-speech-recognition related part, converting saidnon-speech-recognition related part into an address signal destined forsaid memory.

[0018] A second embodiment of the switch according to the invention ischaracterised in that said response signals comprise speech-recognitionrelated parts and/or non-speech-recognition related parts, with saidprocessing comprising, in response to a detection of aspeech-recognition related part, routing said speech-recognition relatedpart to said server, and with said processing comprising, in response toa detection of a non-speech-recognition related part, letting saidnon-speech-recognition related part pass to allow saidnon-speech-recognition related part being sent to said terminal.

[0019] The invention also relates to a server for use in atelecommunication system comprising a terminal, a switch and at least apart of an I-net comprising a memory for storing I-net informationblocks at locations defined by I-net addresses, with at least parts ofsaid I-net addresses being generated in response to control signalsoriginating from said terminal, and with at least ports of said I-netinformation blocks being sent from said memory to said terminal in theform of response signals.

[0020] The server according to the invention is characterised in thatsaid switch comprises a detector for detectingspeech-recognition/non-speech-recognition related parts in said controlsignals, and comprises a processor for, in response to a detection,processing said control signals comprising speech-recognition relatedparts and/or non-speech-recognition related parts, with said processingcomprising, in response to a detection of a speech-recognition relatedpart, routing said speech-recognition related part to said servercomprising a converter for converting said speech-recognition relatedpart into an address signal destined for said memory, and with saidprocessing comprising, in response to a detection of anon-speech-recognition related part, converting saidnon-speech-recognition related part into an address signal destined forsaid memory.

[0021] A first embodiment of the server according to the invention ischaracterised in that said terminal comprises a preprocessing unit forpreprocessing speech-recognition related parts of said control signals,with said server comprising a final processing unit for final processingsaid preprocessed speech-recognition related parts.

[0022] The invention yet also relates to a method for use in atelecommunication system comprising a terminal, a switch and at least apart of an I-net comprising a memory for storing I-net informationblocks at locations defined by I-net addresses, with at least parts ofsaid I-net addresses being generated in response to control signalsoriginating from said terminal, and with at least parts of said I-netinformation blocks being sent from said memory to said terminal in theform of response signals.

[0023] The method according to the invention is characterised in thatsaid method comprises a first step of detectingspeech-recognition/non-speech-recognition related parts in said signalsand a second step of, in response to a detection, processing saidsignals.

[0024] Embodiments of the method according to the invention are incorrespondence with embodiments of the telecommunication systemaccording to the invention.

[0025] The document U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,464 discloses a dictatingmechanism based upon distributed speech recognition (DSR). Otherdocuments being related to DSR are for example EP00440016.4 andEP00440057.8. The document EP00440087.5 discloses a system forperforming vocal commanding. Neither one of these documents disclosesthe telecommunication system according to the invention. All referencesincluding further references cited with respect to and/or inside saidreferences are considered to be incorporated in this patent application.

[0026] The invention will be further explained at the hand of anembodiment described with respect to a drawing, whereby

[0027]FIG. 1 discloses a telecommunication system according to theinvention comprising a switch according to the invention and a serveraccording to the invention and a part of an I-net and a terminal.

[0028] Terminal 1 as shown in FIG. 1 comprises a processor 10, a memory11, a transceiver 12 and a man-machine-interface 13 (mmi 13). One sideof transceiver 12 is coupled to an antennae and of an other side anoutput of transceiver 12 is coupled via a connection 14 to mmi 13 and aninput of transceiver 12 is coupled via a connection 15 to mmi 13.Processor 10 is coupled via control connections to memory 11, totransceiver 12, and to mmi 13. Memory 11 is further coupled via controlconnections to transceiver 12 and mmi 13.

[0029] Switch 3 according to the invention as shown in FIG. 1 comprisesa processor 30, a memory 31, a detector 32, a coupler 33, a first unit34 and a second unit 35. Processor 30 is coupled via control connectionsto memory 31, to coupler 33 and to detector 32. Coupler 33 is coupledvia a connection 50 to a base station 5 for mobile communication withterminal 1 and via a connection 51 to a base station 6 and via aconnection 52 to server 2 and via a connection 53 to unit 34 and via aconnection 54 to defector 32 and via a connection 55 to memory 4 formingpart of an I-net (Internet/Intranet) and via a connection 56 to unit 35.

[0030] Server 2 according to the invention as shown in FIG. 1 comprisesa processor 20, a memory 23, a first circuit 21 and a second circuit 22.Processor 20 is coupled via a control bus 24 to memory 23 and to circuit21 and to circuit 22, and is coupled via a bus 25 to memory 23, tocircuit 21 and to circuit 22. Bus 25 is coupled to connection 52.

[0031] The telecommunication system according to the invention as shownin FIG. 1 functions as follows.

[0032] According to a first embodiment, terminal 1 is operated in forexample the so-called WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) mode or in another Internet/Intranet related mode, as a result of which a connection(at least partly circuit-switched and/or at least partlypacket-switched) is set up from terminal 1 via base station 5 and switch3 to memory 4. In response, a first I-net information block (for examplea HTML page or web page or WAP page) for example to be called‘startpage’ (for example predefined and stored in memory 4 per userand/or per terminal or predefined and stored in memory 11 and sent toswitch 3 together with user information and/or terminal information) issent from memory 4 towards terminal 1 and arrives via connection 55 atcoupler 33 of switch 3, in response to which processor 30 is informed ofsaid arrival, and in response instructs coupler 33 to couple connection55 with connection 56, as a result of which said first I-net informationblock is for example buffered in unit 35 having a buffer function. Then,according to the invention, processor 30 instructs defector 32 toanalyse said first I-net information block, which in general willcomprise one or more codes indicating that a part of said first I-netinformation block is speech-recognition related. Such a code for exampleis a so-called ‘grammar’ specifying a speech recognition grammar, or isfor example a ‘href’ for example specifying <p><a href=“http://www.alcatel.com”>The world of Alcatel </a></p>. To be able toanalyses said first I-net information block is sent from unit 35 viaconnection 56 and coupler 33 and connection 54 to detector 32 whichperforms an analysis (for example by comparing subparts of said firstI-net information block with predefined subparts stored in memory 31).In response to detection of such a speech-recognition related part,detector 32 informs processor 30, which then controls coupler 33 in sucha way that said speech-recognition related part is sent from unit 35 viaconnection 56 and coupler 33 and connection 52 to server 2 and that thenon-speech-recognition related part is sent from unit 35 via connection56 and coupler 33 and connection 50 and base station 5 to terminal 1(for example by using user information and/or terminal information) forexample in the form of a response signal. In server 2, saidspeech-recognition related part is supplied to bus 25, in response towhich processor 20 is informed, which controls memory 23 is such a wayvia control bus 24 that said speech-recognition related part is storedin said memory 23 (for example together with and/or in relation to userinformation and/or terminal information). In terminal 1, saidnon-speech-recognition related part is supplied via transceiver 12 andconnection 14 to mmi 13 under control of processor 10, in response towhich said first I-net information block is displayed at mmi 13 (forexample comprising a display and further for example comprising aloudspeaker, a microphone, a keyboard etc.).

[0033] According to a first alternative to said first embodiment, bothsaid speech-recognition related part and said non-speech-recognitionrelated part are together sent from unit 35 via connection 56 andcoupler 33 and connection 50 and base station 5 to terminal 1, with saidspeech-recognition related part of course still being sent to server 2.

[0034] According to a second alternative to said first embodiment, unit35 is not used, due to coupler 33 and processor 30 and detector 32 beingsufficiently fast to detect and in response to send saidnon-speech-recognition related part (possibly together with saidspeech-recognition related part) to terminal 1 and to send saidspeech-recognition related part (also) to server2.

[0035] According to a second embodiment, a user operating terminal 1 andlooking at said first I-net information block at mmi 13 (display)decides to order a second I-net information block (a next page).Thereto, said user for example operates mmi 13 (keyboard) in such a waythat a control signal (comprising at least one non-speech-recognitionrelated part) is generated, which via connection 15 and transceiver 12under control of processor 10 is sent via base station 5 and connection50 to coupler 33 of switch 3. Processor 30 is informed of this arrival,and in response instructs coupler 33 to couple connection 50 withconnection 56, as a result of which said control signal is for examplebuffered in unit 35 having a buffer function. Then, according to theinvention, processor 30 instructs detector 32 to analyse said controlsignal, which either at least comprises one or more codes indicatingthat said control signal is non-speech-recognition related (generatedvia the keyboard of mmi 13) or comprises one or more codes indicatingthat said control signal is speech-recognition related (generated viathe microphone of mmi 13). To be able to analyse, said control signal issent from unit 35 via connection 56 and coupler 33 and connection 54 todetector 32 which performs an analysis (for example by comparingsubparts of said control signal with predefined subparts stored inmemory 31). In response to detection of at least onenon-speech-recognition related part (due to said keyboard being used),detector 32 informs processor 30, which then controls coupler 33 in sucha way that said control signal is sent from unit 35 via connection 56and coupler 33 and connection 53 to unit 34 having a conversionfunction. Unit 34 then converts said control signal function (forexample by using user information and/or terminal information) into anaddress signal suitable for memory 4, which address signal eitherdirectly via connection 53 and coupler 33 and connection 55 is suppliedto memory 4 or indirectly via connection 53 and coupler 33 andconnection 50 and base station 5 is supplied to terminal 1, which thensends it (for example by using user information and/or terminalinformation) via base station 5 and connection 50 and coupler 33 andconnection 55 to memory 4. As a result, memory 4 generates said secondI-net information block which at least partly is sent to terminal 1 (forexample by using user information and/or terminal information) and atleast partly is sent to server 2, etc.

[0036] According to a first alternative to said second embodiment, unit34 is not used, due to said control signal already comprising an addresssignal suitable for memory 4, etc.

[0037] According to a second alternative to said second embodiment, unit35 is not used, due to coupler 33 and processor 30 and detector 32 beingsufficiently fast to detect and in response to process said controlsignal etc.

[0038] According to a third embodiment, a user operating terminal 1 andlooking at said first or second I-net information block at mmi 13(display) decides to order a second or third I-net information block (anext page). Thereto, said user for example operates mmi 13 (microphone)in such a way that a control signal (comprising at least onespeech-recognition related part) is generated, which via connection 15and transceiver 12 under control of processor 10 is sent via basestation 5 and connection 50 to coupler 33 of switch 3. Processor 30 isinformed of this arrival, and in response instructs coupler 33 to coupleconnection 50 with connection 56, as a result of which said controlsignal is for example buffered in unit 35 having a buffer function.Then, according to the invention, processor 30 instructs detector 32 toanalyse said control signal, which either at least comprises one or morecodes indicating that said control signal is non-speech-recognitionrelated (generated via the keyboard of mmi 13) or comprises one or morecodes indicating that said control signal is speech-recognition related(generated via the microphone of mmi 13). To be able to analyse, saidcontrol signal is sent from unit 35 via connection 56 and coupler 33 andconnection 54 to detector 32 which performs an analysis (for example bycomparing subparts of said control signal with predefined subpartsstored in memory 31). In response to detection of at least onespeech-recognition related part (due to said microphone being used),detector 32 informs processor 30, which then controls coupler 33 in sucha way that said control signal is sent from unit 35 via connection 56and coupler 33 and connection 52 to server 2. In server 2, said controlsignal is supplied via bus 25 to circuit 21 having a conversion functionand/or to memory 23. Together, memory 23 and circuit 21, in dependenceof what has previously been stored in memory 23 in relation to the I-netinformation block presently shown at mmi 13, convert said control signal(for example by using user information and/or terminal information) infoan address signal (suitable) for memory 4, which address signal eitherdirectly via connection 52 and coupler 33 (and possibly via unit 34) andconnection 55 is supplied to memory 4 or indirectly via connection 52and coupler 33 (and possibly via unit 34) and connection 50 and basestation 5 is supplied to terminal 1, which then sends it (for example byusing user information and/or terminal information) via base station 5and connection 50 and coupler 33 and connection 55 to memory 4. As aresult, memory 4 generates said second or third I-net information blockwhich at least partly is sent to terminal 1 (for example by using userinformation and/or terminal information) and at least partly is sent toserver 2, etc.

[0039] According to a first alternative to said third embodiment,terminal 1 comprises a preprocessing unit (not shown, possibly formingpart of processor 10) for preprocessing said control signal generatedvia mmi 13 (microphone), in which case in server 2 circuit 22 having afinal processing function for final processing said preprocessed controlsignal, and in which case either possibly detector 32 is able to detectspeech-recognition/non-speech-recognition related parts in saidpreprocessed signal or possibly switch 3 comprises a further unit (notshown) for either re-preprocessing or final processing said preprocessedcontrol signal to assist said detector 32, etc.

[0040] According to a second alternative to said third embodiment, unit35 is not used, due to coupler 33 and processor 30 and detector 32 beingsufficiently fast to detect and in response to process said controlsignal etc.

[0041] All embodiments are just embodiments and do not exclude otherembodiments not shown and/or described. All alternatives are justalternatives and do not exclude other alternatives not shown and/ordescribed. Any (part of an) embodiment and/or any (part of an)alternative can be combined with any other (part of an) embodimentand/or any other (part of an) alternative.

[0042] Said terminal, base station and switch can begin accordance withGSM, UMTS, DECT, ISDN, PSTN etc. Said construction of said terminal,switch and server can be amended without departing from the scope ofthis invention. Parallel blocks can be connected serially, and viceversa, and aeach bus can be replaced by separate connections, and viceversa. Said units and circuits, as well as all other blocks shown and/ornot shown, can be 100% hardware, or 100% software, of a mixture of both.Each unit, circuit and block can be integrated with a processor or anyother part, and each function of a processor can be realised by aseparate unit, circuit or block.

[0043] For example detector 32 having a double function—detectingspeech-recognition/non-speech-recognition related parts in responsesignals originating from memory 4 (for example said detection of said‘href’ and/or ‘grammar’) as well as in control signals originating fromterminal 1 (for example detection of codes and/or a protocol definingthat certain signals originate from keyboard and/or mouse and/or thatother signals do not etc.)—can be realised by separated detectors. Andfor example unit 34 having said conversion function may also comprise aDNS (Domain Name Server) function for converting a Uniform ResourceLocator—URL—into an Internet Protocol—IP—address. However, said DNSfunction could also be located in server 2, etc.

1. Telecommunication system comprising a terminal, a switch and at leasta part of an I-net comprising a memory for storing I-net informationblocks at locations defined by I-net addresses, with at least parts ofsaid I-net addresses being generated in response to control signalsoriginating from said terminal, and with at least parts of said I-netinformation blocks being sent from said memory to said terminal in theform of response signals, characterised in that said switch comprises adetector for detecting speech-recognition/non-speech-recognition relatedparts in said signals, and comprises a processor for, in response to adetection, processing said signals.
 2. Telecommunication systemaccording to claim 1, characterised in that said control signalscomprise speech-recognition related parts and/or non-speech-recognitionrelated parts, with said processing comprising, in response to adetection of a speech-recognition related part, routing saidspeech-recognition related part to a server for converting saidspeech-recognition related part into an address signal destined for saidmemory, and with said processing comprising, in response to a detectionof a non-speech-recognition related part, converting saidnon-speech-recognition related part into an address signal destined forsaid memory.
 3. Telecommunication system according to claim 2,characterised in that said terminal comprises a preprocessing unit forpreprocessing speech-recognition related parts of said control signals,with said server comprising a final processing unit for final processingsaid preprocessed speech-recognition related parts.
 4. Telecommunicationsystem according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterised in that said responsesignals comprise speech-recognition related parts and/ornon-speech-recognition related parts, with said processing comprising,in response to a detection of a speech-recognition related part, routingsaid speech-recognition related part to said server, and with saidprocessing comprising, in response to a detection of anon-speech-recognition related part, letting said non-speech-recognitionrelated part pass to allow said non-speech-recognition related partbeing sent to said terminal.
 5. Switch for use in a telecommunicationsystem comprising a terminal, said switch and at least a part of anI-net comprising a memory for storing I-net information blocks atlocations defined by I-net addresses, with at least parts of said I-netaddresses being generated in response to control signals originatingfrom said terminal, and with at least parts of said I-net informationblocks being sent from said memory to said terminal in the form ofresponse signals, characterised in that said switch comprises a detectorfor detecting speech-recognition/non-speech-recognition related parts insaid signals, and comprises a processor for, in response to a detection,processing said signals.
 6. Switch according to claim 5, characterisedin that said control signals comprise speech-recognition related partsand/or non-speech-recognition related parts, with said processingcomprising, in response to a detection of a speech-recognition relatedpart, routing said speech-recognition related part to a server forconverting said speech-recognition related part info an address signaldestined for said memory, and with said processing comprising, inresponse to a detection of a non-speech-recognition related part,converting said non-speech-recognition related part into an addresssignal destined for said memory.
 7. Switch according to claim 5 or 6,characterised in that said response signals comprise speech-recognitionrelated parts and/or non-speech-recognition related parts, with saidprocessing comprising, in response to a detection of aspeech-recognition related part, routing said speech-recognition relatedpart to said server, and with said processing comprising, in response todetection of a non-speech-recognition related part, letting saidnon-speech-recognition related part pass to allow saidnon-speech-recognition related part being sent to said terminal. 8.Server for use in a telecommunication system comprising a terminal, aswitch and at least a part of an I-net comprising a memory for storingI-net information blocks at locations defined by I-net addresses, withat least parts of said I-net addresses being generated in response tocontrol signals originating from said terminal, and with at least partsof said I-net information blocks being sent from said memory to saidterminal in the form of response signals, characterised in that saidswitch comprises a detector for detectingspeech-recognition/non-speech-recognition related parts in said controlsignals, and comprises a processor for, in response to a detection,processing said control signals comprising speech-recognition relatedparts and/or non-speech-recognition related parts, with said processingcomprising, in response to a detection of a speech-recognition relatedpart, routing said speech-recognition related part to said servercomprising a converter for converting said speech-recognition relatedpart into an address signal destined for said memory, and with saidprocessing comprising, in response to a detection of anon-speech-recognition related part, converting saidnon-speech-recognition related part into an address signal destined forsaid memory.
 9. Server according to claim 8, characterised in that saidterminal comprises a preprocessing unit for preprocessingspeech-recognition related parts of said control signals, with saidserver comprising a final processing unit for final processing saidpreprocessed speech-recognition related parts.
 10. Method for use in atelecommunication system comprising a terminal, a switch and at least apart of an I-net comprising a memory for storing I-net informationblocks at locations defined by I-net addresses, with at least parts ofsaid I-net addresses being generated in response to control signalsoriginating from said terminal, and with at east parts of said I-netinformation blocks being sent from said memory to said terminal in theform of response signals, characterised in that said method comprises afirst step of detecting speech-recognition/non-speech-recognitionrelated parts in said signals and a second step of, in response to adetection, processing said signals.